Seeing Letho's imposing figure and distinctive bald head, Wayne was fairly certain of his identity.
He maintained a gentle smile, meeting Letho's vigilant gaze, and said in a calm but sincere voice, "Letho, I came to Toussaint by chance and heard rumors about the witchers. I came here to find you."
"Besides wanting to make your acquaintance, I also have a well-paying commission I'd like to offer you."
Noticing that Wayne seemed non-hostile, Letho and his companion relaxed slightly. But after hearing Wayne's explanation, their doubts remained. Letho signaled to his companion to deal with the carcass, then frowned and asked, "A commission?"
"Aren't there enough witchers in the North? Why seek out witchers from the South?"
Wayne was about to answer when he noticed a wound on Letho's body, a gash from the pterodactyl's claws, slowly oozing blood. He reached into his spatial bracelet and retrieved a potion bottle filled with red liquid.
He gently tossed the bottle to Letho, who caught it, and continued,
"No, Letho. While there aren't many witchers in the North, there are still a few. There are members of the Wolf, Griffin, and Bear schools."
"However, the client I mentioned is myself. I need a lot of helpers, and no number is too many. Even if you found me ten more witchers, it wouldn't be excessive."
Wayne grinned, a hint of dominance in his voice. "And don't worry, the reward for this commission is the most generous you've ever seen. Enough gold to require a cart to transport, and it's not dangerous."
"I'm hiring you because I have great confidence in the trustworthiness of witchers. With your help, I don't have to worry about betrayal."
Wayne pointed to the red potion bottle in Letho's hand and said with a smile, "This is a healing potion I obtained from an Archdruid. It's very effective for wounds. It takes less than half a minute to heal your injuries after drinking it, and it's not as toxic as witcher potions. You can try it."
However, Letho remained cautious. He shook his head expressionlessly, put the potion in his pocket, and said, "Wayne, we can discuss your commission once we're in the city. Right now, we still need to deal with this pterodactyl."
"We've been chasing this beast from Ebbing all the way to Toussaint for nearly ten days. One of our companions was injured and is recuperating elsewhere. We need to take care of this first before talking about anything else."
Wayne agreed with Letho's decision. After all, one couldn't simply trust a stranger, especially in the medieval era, where moral standards were generally low.
After a moment's thought, Wayne retrieved a book he'd copied himself from his spatial bracelet and tossed it to Letho.
It was a valuable book containing witcher Sign knowledge, copied from those he'd obtained from Aretuza. He said, under Letho's surprised gaze, "This book is a gift to show my goodwill and earn your trust."
"I'll be staying at the Red Rose Inn in Beauclair for a while. Come find me when you're done with your current task."
"You know, Letho, encounters between witchers of different schools are rare. We should exchange knowledge and experiences. You might gain something unexpected."
Perhaps moved by Wayne's sincerity, Letho nodded seriously, promising to seek him out in Beauclair once his current task was complete.
With this confirmation, Wayne sighed slightly. He knew they wouldn't join him immediately, so he left the Caroberta Woods on his magic carpet.
Back in his room at the Red Rose, Wayne breathed a sigh of relief. The most urgent task in Toussaint was accomplished – he'd made contact with the Viper School witchers. This was a significant gain.
His next step was to bring Letho and the others into his fold.
According to the plot and the rumors he'd learned from books at Kaer Morhen, the Viper School was founded by Ivar Evil-Eye with the goal of defeating the Wild Hunt.
The school's headquarters was located in the fortress of Gorthur Gvaed in the Tir Tochair mountains, within Nilfgaardian territory. Later, during the war, the Nilfgaardian usurper emperor sought to recruit these witchers but was rebuffed.
Ultimately, their academy was destroyed by Nilfgaard's army, and its members suffered heavy losses. Only Letho and a few others survived.
Whether this siege had already occurred or not would be revealed through conversation with Letho.
According to the original timeline, the usurper would be overthrown by the "hedgehog man" in 1257. Judging from the current year of 1253, the siege likely already happened.
This presented an opportunity. Letho and his companions might be in a vulnerable state, making it a good time to recruit them.
If he could convince the Viper School members to return, it would be progress towards rebuilding the Witcher Order.
After pondering the Viper School for a while, Wayne shifted his thoughts to another matter:
The whereabouts of the Wolf School and Cat School grandmaster armor diagrams.
He had searched for them in the game, but the real-world map differed significantly from the game's. Relying on game memories to find them was impossible.
However, if he could contact the elven songmaster, Tyen'sail, obtaining these diagrams shouldn't be an issue.
In the game, the he died in a racist massacre. However, it was currently twenty years before the game's timeline. He had inquired about him, and he was still alive and running his shop.
It just so happened that he needed something from him this time, so he could save his life in the process.
Thinking this, Wayne took out a fist-sized magic communicator from his pocket. It was the communication device Francesca had given him. Because it could be contacted anytime, he had to keep it close to his body instead of storing it in his spatial bracelet.
He sat on a chair, pressed a button, and channeled chaotic magic into the device.
After waiting for about two minutes, Francesca's slightly distorted voice came through the communicator, "What's the matter, Wayne?"
"Did you run into trouble in Toussaint?"
Wayne didn't hesitate and asked his question directly, "Lady Francesca, do you know Tyen'sail, the elven songmaster in Toussaint?"
There was a pause on the other end, as if she was thinking. Then the sorceress's voice resumed, "I seem to have a faint impression. I heard some people in the Valley of Flowers mention him. He should be from the new generation of elves, but I don't know him personally."
Hearing Francesca's answer, Wayne felt a bit disappointed. A master armorer should be considered a valuable asset for any group.
He was about to tell the sorceress more about the master, but Francesca continued, "If you need his help with anything, I can convey your request. I believe most elves would still give me some consideration."
Faced with Francesca's slightly assertive tone, Wayne paused for a moment before briefly explaining Tyen'sail's situation:
"The elven master blacksmith is a valuable asset. Whether it's for a future war or for the elves themselves, he will be very important."
"However, I heard a rumor that elves aren't very popular in Toussaint, and there are still some racists among the people."
"It seems someone is planning to harm this elven master."
After hearing Wayne's warning, Francesca seemed to fall into deep thought. After a brief pause, she said, "You're right, Wayne. Please place this communicator in the center of the room. I'll come to Toussaint now. Wait until tomorrow, and I'll go with you to meet Tyen'sail."
Wayne was taken aback. He glanced at the sky outside and saw it was dusk.
He hadn't expected Francesca to be so eager to come over at this hour, but he had no reason to stop her. He quickly followed her instructions and placed the magic communicator in the center of the room.
After a minute or two, the communicator made of unknown metal suddenly vibrated, and a portal leading to the void instantly formed above it.
A few seconds later, the elf sorceress in her gorgeous white dress stepped out of the portal.
Even after opening a portal spanning half a continent, Francesca still wore a smile that was both beautiful and noble.
She nodded slightly at Wayne, and with a wave of her right hand, the portal vanished instantly.
After the sorceress surveyed Wayne's room, she elegantly placed a pair of pearl earrings on her ears. Her long elven ears were instantly concealed by magic.
Having completed her disguise, Francesca gracefully extended her slender, white hand towards Wayne and said, "It's my first time in Toussaint, Wayne. Would you show me around this beautiful city?"
Faced with the request of such a beautiful lady, Wayne, as a man who appreciated beauty, certainly wouldn't refuse. He reached out, took Francesca's hand, and tucked her arm into his strong one. Then, with this elegant beauty by his side, he walked out of the room.